


The Solitude Lighthouse

by Affie



Series: Siren Song [2]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: CPR, F/M, First Meetings, Near Death, Outskirts of Solitude, Skyrim Romance Mod, Solitude Lighthouse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-02 00:32:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17877743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Affie/pseuds/Affie
Summary: After the betrayal at sea, Roman has an unexpected and unusual savior.





	The Solitude Lighthouse

As a fresh and brisk ocean breeze rolled over the shores surrounding the Solitude Lighthouse, a lone ranger shivered and pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders. It was well into the evening, just after sunset and the only thing lighting the way was a lantern he had on his hip. It was a quiet night, and the pungent smell of salt was almost overpowering to the wolf at his side, who summarily lifted his head, cocked it to the side and sneezed, breaking the long silence between them.  
“Yeah, I know, bud. The ocean reeks.” The ranger complained to his furry companion as he rubbed at his reddened nose. “I don’t suppose you can smell any Horkers laying about?”  
The wolf lifted his head once again, sniffing the air. He eventually caught wind of their prey and turned his attention in that direction, then took off with the ranger in tow.  
“Good boy!” The ranger praised, drawing his dagger.  
The eager wolf sped ahead, circling the lighthouse but quickly stopped, perched on a short, rocky ledge. He stared at a blubbery pile of Horkers, hanging out by the water. Three of them to be exact. They wobbled around, making grunting noises while they moved as a true testament to their fat and lazy nature. But they are not to be taken lightly. Their tusks can prove to be very dangerous especially since they are territorial animals.  
“Looks like we’re eatin’ good for a while, bud.” The ranger said, drawing his bow and nocked an arrow. He aimed it towards the closest one, the one he assumed was the alpha as it was the largest and had the longest tusks. But before he could release the shot, the wolf let out a sharp bark, then an attention-getting whimper.  
“You want dinner or not?” He asked sternly before noticing the wolf was looking past him. He lowered his bow then turned to follow the intent stare and saw a figure by the shore; it was too dark to figure out what it was. “What are you freaking out about? It’s probably just some seaweed or washed up trash.” He dismissed it and raised his bow again, aiming then finally took a shot.  
Another bark, an argumentative one at that. The ranger jumped, and the arrow flew way above the target and into the distance. With an annoyed sigh, the ranger lowered this bow and looked down.  
“I thought you liked Horker!” He argued back at the animal.  
It was then that it took off running, right for whatever it was that he had seen.  
“Karnwyr!”  
Ignoring the ranger’s call, Karnwyr sprinted across the shore towards the figure laying on the wet sands by a broken dock and a narrow path that led into a dark delve.  
By the time he caught up, he saw Karnwyr standing over someone, a woman, and was licking her face, whining quietly as he did.  
“Leave them alone, you weirdo!” The ranger scolded Karnwyr, reaching down to shoo him off.  
Another sigh, “Are you alright?” He asked the woman. There was no reply, so he got a bit closer, bending down a bit to look at her face with the illumination of the lantern.  
Her eyes were closed, face beaten but washed of blood, presumably from the water, and her lips were a light blue and dry as if she were dead or freezing to death with skin nearly white as a ghost’s. It caused his heart to start pounding, and he gulped a lump down his throat.  
“Hey, You sleeping, or something?” He asked though the answer was obvious.  
With no verbal or physical response, he knelt down after putting his bow aside and bent forward to hover his ear over her lips. She wasn’t breathing, so he reached to her neck, pressing the pads of his index and middle finger into her vein and counted the pulse. It was faint, but it was something he could work with, and that gave him hope. His heart calmed down quite a bit, and he hastily linked his hands one on top of the other and began to pump at the center of her chest. He quietly counted each compression to himself while applying enough pressure to pump her lungs but not break any ribs. Eventually, he stopped at thirty and bent over, tilting her head back then pinched her nostrils closed before locking their mouths together and breathed into her a couple of times.  
Still nothing.  
“C’mon…” He growled as he went back to pumping her chest.  
Another thirty compressions and he bent back down to breathing into her mouth.  
This time, before their lips locked, the girl sputtered and coughed up quite a bit of water; even spitting some in his face.  
The ranger recoiled, groaning in disgust as he wiped his eyes with his fingers.  
She coughed hoarsely, gagged and choked up water with putrid, pinkish bile mixed in from her mouth, and it dripped onto the ground after she rolled to her side. It took a few minutes for her to entirely stop coughing before she slowly flopped onto her back and stared wide-eyed up at the starry sky. But she was shivering violently, and the ranger could practically hear her heart thumping rapidly from a few feet away.  
“Are you okay?” The ranger finally asked her.  
“Wh-who… Who’s there?” She replied quickly, sounding a bit startled with a severely raspy voice.  
“I saved your life, sweetness.” The man replied, somewhat egotistically. “I found you near-drowned… So, I had to pump the water from your lungs and get air back in there.”  
She went silent, closing her eyes and continued breathing heavily and somewhat labored.  
The ranger adjusted himself then put his bow on his back, afterward, scooping the girl into his arms. She reacted with a quick slap to his face, landing one nice blow with her palm.  
“Ow!” He howled, glaring at her, “Stupid woman! I’m trying to help you!” He angrily insisted while clamoring to his feet. She was lightweight, even with her soaked clothes, which made it easy for him to trek up the small, narrow path that wound up a small hill.  
She relented to him then laid her head on his chest to shut her eyes.  
He carried her to the lighthouse, Karnwyr in tow, and climbed the stairs to the top where he knew a large fire burned. Once he reached it, he laid her down beside it then gently shook her shoulder.  
“Hey…” He called calmly.  
Her eyes opened lethargically.  
“I don’t mean to sound like a creep but you’d be warmer out of your wet clothes.” He continued, untying his cloak.  
Sighing, she sat up, a bit wobbly at first, then began to strip off her clothes. She wasn’t shy about him being there either, but he wasn’t focused on her in that way. So, she stripped nude and he offered his cloak to her. Once it was wrapped around her shoulders, covering her, he sat back and laid a hand over Karnwyr’s head.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

About an hour of absolute silence between the two had passed. The man had thought about asking what had happened, but she just seemed so content on being quiet, warming up by the fire. So instead, he got up and went hunting for Horkers again, leaving Karnwyr behind with the woman.  
He returned about another hour later and prepared a quaint meal for the three of them by simply salting the slabs of meat and roasting them over the fire.  
The woman grabbed her share and croaked a barely audible “Thank you…” to him.  
He looked surprised, “She speaks?”  
She nodded, then tore off a bite of meat.  
“But not much, I see.” He continued, tossing Karnwyr a piece. The wolf scarfed it down quickly.  
“I’ve just… Been thinking.” She replied after swallowing.  
“Understandable… Does this mean I can ask you a couple questions?”  
She looked unsure at first as her eyes darted to the side and her expression tightened. “...I guess I owe you that much, huh?”  
“Mmm, not unless you wanted to die, I suppose.” He would jest, but even he didn’t crack a smile at it.  
After a moment, she shifted under the cloak and turned to face him fully. “You ask a question, then I ask a question. Seem fair?”  
“Perfectly.” He agreed.  
“You start.” She said, then took another bite.  
He scooted back a bit, resting his back against a nearby crate. He scooted his knees in and rested each arm over his knees.  
“What’s your name?”  
A simple enough question… She bobbed her head a bit, “Roman.”  
“Just Roman?”  
She nodded.  
“Fair enough…”  
She looked up from her meal, “My turn.”  
“Ask away. Can’t promise I’ll answer truthfully, or at all.” He warned her.  
She merely shrugged before she asked, “What’s your name?”  
He laughed, “My name is Bishop.” He answered, “I guess we both forgot our manners, huh, ladyship?”  
“Just Bishop?” She mocked him. “And don't call me that.”  
He rolled his eyes. “This is Karnwyr.” He patted the wolf’s head, who was laying at his side. “It’s my turn now, as well… So, let me just ask: What happened to you that you ended up washed up on the beach, nearly dead?”  
She went quiet and her brief smile had faded. Suddenly uncomfortable, she merely looked at him and shrugged. “I… Don’t remember.”  
His eyes narrowed, “You don’t?”  
“No.”  
“Did you really hit your head that hard?”  
Another shrug, followed by silence.  
The obvious skepticism on his face immediately pissed her off, so she laid the stick that she used to hold the slab of meat aside and sat up, “Why did you save me?”  
“I-... What kind of question is that?” He began, defensively, but she could tell he was also unsure. “Why wouldn’t I have?”  
“Don’t answer a question with a question, Bishop.”  
He paused, taken aback by her nonchalant manner. “B-because… Karnwyr found you, and… He seemed to like you. So… I…” He trailed off.  
Karnwyr’s head lifted at the mention of his name, whining quietly.  
“You could’ve just left me be… Avoided the complication.” She said.  
Bishop cleared his throat and shifted a little bit. He briefly tilted his head and replied, “I’m a… Complicated man, princess. Not like I’m gonna be babysitting you any more than I have already.”  
She looked aside, staring down the beach path leading passed some small hills. “Where’s the nearest town?” She asked.  
“...Do you even know where you are?”  
She glanced back at him, her brow arched. “I…” She paused, considering that she told him she hadn’t remembered how she ended up on the beach, she shook her head. “No.”  
“Wow…” He leaned back, as if in awe. “You’re in Skyrim.” He promptly pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out an exasperated sigh. “I guess I take back my previous statement.”  
“Can you take me to the nearest town, at least?” She asked, trying her best not to sound too desperate. She had a strong feeling of distrust in the man, and she had already lied to avoid even more complications.  
“Fine…” He relented easily, “I take you there, buy you clothes and I’m out.”  
She climbed to her feet, dusting her behind off and straightened the cloak he had wrapped around her.  
“Whoa, you wanna go now? It’s dark, and your clothes aren’t even dry yet.” Bishop protested.  
She looked at him, suddenly feeling the bitter cold flow in under the cloak, causing her to shiver violently. “I have to.” She said, with an unintended urgency.  
“Why?” He continued to pry.  
“M-maybe someone saw something… Or knows something about what happened to me?”  
He stood up, reaching for her arm but she quickly stepped away from his grasp.  
“Don’t touch me!”  
“Hey, calm down.” He coaxed, showing her both of his hands. “I’m not going to hurt you, Roman.” He backed off and calmly sat back down. “Just… Stay here for the night, alright? You can take my weapons if it makes you feel better.”  
Reluctantly, Roman lowered back to the ground and sat against the opposite wall of him. She wrapped the cloak tightly around herself and let the warmth seep back in.  
Bishop, seeming satisfied with her decision, slid his dagger, a quiver full of arrows and his bow over to her. “I’ll sit and watch while you get some rest, princess.”  
“...Don’t call me that, either.” She murmured, resting the back of her head against the wall.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is inspired by the Skyrim Romance Mod:
> 
> https://skyrimromance.com/
> 
> https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/71754


End file.
